Here's why health care will not become a "real" issue in this country.

By that I mean that it won't be really solved by the powers that be.

I imagine I won't say anything really new for most people here, but I was just smacked with it today. My son (11) has asthma. We have known that since he was 2. He was tested for allergies 8 years ago and had none. He went to the Dr. for a sports physical in June and the Dr. said it seemed like he had some allergies and he referred my son. We went to the allergist for an appointment, found he has a TON of allergies, got a new prescription for a different daily inhaler, some Nasanex samples, and went on our way.

I just got the EOB from my insurance company today. It was $1200 for that one visit. Holy shit. How much do I have to pay? $0.00. See, I'm a teacher and one of the benefits is fantastic health insurance.

I think there are too many people in my position that just don't give a shit. Health care isn't a problem for us and too many people don't look at their EOBs and make the conclusions they should. My son's asthma is now going to be even more treatable. He just saw the best allergist in the area. How can there be any problems? Nobody seems to take the minute to think, what about the kid with asthma who's parents don't even MAKE $1200 a month and have no insurance. When their kid with asthma gets a flare up they can go to the ER (which they will also have to pay for), get a nebulizer treatment, perhaps a sample inhaler, and get sent on their way. No treatment for the underlying problem, just a band-aid to cover the gangrene.

It's going to take a powerful shot in the giblets to the upper middle class for anything to happen and I don't see that coming.

I feel horrible for all those people that are not in the same situation as I.

OK, rant over.

Good opinion you have of your fellow union members.

I don't think that's new information.

the reference is to the NEA and my state/local "EA" since I am a teacher.

as a whole, not specifically just other teachers. I think there is a vast majority in the upper middle class and above (which doesn't include the majority of teachers, I would guess) that don't care. I'm a teacher with a shit load of years under my belt and a masters and a lot of extra credits. I'm near the top of the pay scale in my district. My wife is an attorney. We have it pretty good.

The people Nader said needed to be personally hurt by things before they'd bother paying attention, might you say?

Sorry if I was unclear. I wasn't meaning to bash fellow teachers or other unions.

I didn't get that from your post at all.

Just wondering if I'm understanding you correctly...

I can think of about 3600 that are hurt because of Ralph's er wisdom--- Oh wait--- they're dead, not hurt.

Did I say you said? LOL

read your post as you attacking me as a nader supporter.

I know the fallout is horrible.

Too bad it's not horrible enough to get those well-fed non-payers-of-attention to pay some fucking attention.

Guess more will have to die.

but that one saying by Nader irks me probably forever.

Cause he seems to have been pretty on-target?

Seems like he was to me, and that depresses me greatly.

Fuck Nader!

and with all the crap that's happened since then...

we are still in iraq

the court has thrown out the wiretapping case

they seem to be acting with impunity

oil profits are still skyrocketing while we're being squeezed

healthcare 'solutions' floated by the 'top tier' candidates still keep profit in the picture

the oil privatization bill marches forward


and STILL people are mostly... eh

i wonder what it will take to get them to wake up. i thought this would have been plenty.

when I go to the ER, I get a statement a few weeks later in the mail itemizing all of the charges (almost always over $1000) - and a bill for $25 regardless of what I had done (x-rays, tests, exams, whatever).

It's easy sometimes to forget that some people get a bill for the whole thing.

plan might help move us into modern times.

I guess maybe not so much.

*sigh*

But I am not optimistic. The glimmer of hope in Wisconsin is that they are introducing a bill to proivde health insurance similar to what the state provides it's employees for a pretty reasonable cost. Hopefully it will pass, but we may have too many conservative asshats in the legislature to allow it to happen.

out of debates...

Very far from encouraging.

Your assessment is most likely correct until some new political force changes it.

but more condescension from my sister and her family when I say that we need universal health care.

My sister, in her late 50s, is happily retired from an exec-level career at phone company (yes union). She has all kinds of insurance and had everything she needed a few years ago while being treated for breast cancer. My niece, her daughter, is an attorney and their practice has a good ins plan. What ins co in their right mind is going to screw over an entire business of lawyers? My niece's husband has worked for several years as a project manager for a commercial building firm that specializes in sterile environments. Again, no lack of work there.

Whenever I say that universal health care is a priority, I get silence. Or "gee that's nice, would you pass the butter?" They really. don't. get. it.

because there will be more people covered.

They don't want THEIR coverage/access go down.

They get it all too well.

I've had this same conversation with people that have good insurance. They simply don't want universal health because they are afraid that they will lose what they have.

My own brother told me that. (He has great insurance for now.)

Look at all the mergers and acquisitions today. These companies don't need two sets of executives or middle management. These people will lose their jobs, with golden parachutes only going to those at the very top. Many companies are cutting back--or cutting out--health benefits to retirees. Pension funds, mismanaged or underfunded, can disappear on retirees. Happily retired folks can also end up with nothing. I would say that anybody, with the exception of the top 1% (possibly the top 10%), can lose his or her health insurance at any time for any reason. Until these people realize that they're not as safe as they think they are, they'll continue to support the status quo.

affect them. The surprising thing is that I don't even hear people complain who don't have insurance. They grew up in a society where it's never been viewed as a right to have the best health technologically possible and, therefore, can't see the country any other way. I think that the latter is the one that really makes me sad. I understand human greed and our tendency to only care about our own needs, but I don't understand why those without aren't absolutely furious. I am! :grr:

His plan is to make it available to the public until age 55 when then you would be on medicare (per his plan).

the way the sorry healthcare system is run, is when the sheeple actually start taking their health care in their own hands. Imagine, actually researching your own illness on the web or at the library. Imagine that there is a simpler, less toxic way to treat the problem.( excluding trauma and surgeries, etc.). Imagine a society that tries natural doctors for a change-and they have the rememdy or supplement right there- or can direct you to a health food store. Imagine that they get to the root of the problem because almost all diseases are the result of a deficiency or imflammation or a non alkaline state.

Now when the doctors see they have hardly anyone in their waiting rooms, and Big Pharma sees they are not selling as much, the big bogus house of cards will fall down!!!!

Oh and your son... he is covered until he is 21 if he is going to college 23, after that... he's on his own

Oh and insurance, Forget it... pre-existing condition.

I hope this reality hits you sooner rather than later

He has a gold-plated insurance plan since he is an executive at a Fortune 500 Company. His eyes were opened when his son could not be on his policy anymore and his son needed insurance.

but I'm making the point that I DO get it. That there are too many people that DON'T. I understand the "pre-existing condition" problem and the age when he gets dropped. We keep two insurances just because of the "pre-existing" problem

And "I hope this reality hits you sooner rather than later" means what exactly? That my son drops from coverage and his asthma gets worse so that I understand what I already explained I understand? We need to fix health care NOW. The powers that be just don't get that because it hasn't hit them and they don't take the time to look at the big picture. That was the point of the OP.

and that point you will have two choices

You can pay for his meds, 1200 or whatever it is a month, or not... and why many end up declaring bankruptcy because of medical emergencies, EVEN with gold plate insurance.

That is the faustian choice many people WITH insurance get into once their kids grow up and they have pre-existing conditions.

If I came up harsh, GOOD... that is the wakeup call you will need, apparently.

Of course you could always agitate hoping to get single payer, no pre existing conditions, national health care before he hits that magical age.

I get it. I know it's a problem. My agitation for national health care will mean little.

And you don't understand pre-existing conditions that well. As long as he has constant coverage with a certificate of coverage when going from one company to another, he is fine. Once he is no longer going to be covered by my insurance he can buy cheap insurance and as long as there is no lapse in coverage "pre-existing" won't kick in.

But I appreciate your hope that my son runs into health care problems sooner than later. THAT will surely solve the problem in this country.

You make an excellent point.

It's also funny how liberals always seem to empathize with those who suffer. Yesterday I spent the entire day with gentlemen of the opposite nature. Basically, it goes "I worked, you didn't, screw you, I'm goin' home" - maybe that's what Darwinianism is about, I don't know.

to provide insurance, nothing will happen. The "middles" like you and me...well we HAVE decent/great coverage, and people do not take to the streets until they are in danger of LOSING what they have..

People will NOT mass in the streets to get benefits for "other people"..

people marvel at the way French people take to the streets in the hundreds of thousands, at the drop of a hat.. They do so to SHOW the government that they WILL shut down everything if they lose a benefit.

Since they already HAVE it, they will not give it up, but if a segment here and there have something, you cannot count on them to push for tohers to get what they have...{unless they fear losing it)..

The way to get socialized medicine here is to set a date in the future, and stick to it. after that date NO employer will be ALLOWED and NO insurance company can SELL/OFFER/CONTINUE coverage. (INCLUDED CONGRESSMEN/SENATORS) You can bet your last penny that befroe that date there would be a comprehensive plan in motion.

Corporations are dropping their retiree health programs. And corporations don't keep employees until they turn 65. So when employees in their 50s get dumped by the corporations, they will NOT have a retiree health program to get them through Medicare eligibility. After their COBRA runs out, they are screwed. Many have not figured this out yet and they are in for a rude awakening.

(I'm talking about employees who are not union members.)

You won't get Medicare for All unless they OK it, and they won't OK it at all. You'll get Mitt Romney's mandatory health care law instead.

People don't start action about things that they (i) don't know about or (ii) don't understand. It is up to those of us who DO see a problem (and yes, I also have 'good' insurance) to let people know what the score is out there. If they come to the same conclusion that we have (once presented with the facts), then nothing is going to stop them. The key (IMO) is to give them the facts and let them think about the whole 'me vs we' generation thing that this country has going on.

more people care than not.